Steve Alexander

Basketball Daily Dose

Dose: Melo falls, can't get up

The Knicks spanked the Lakers 41-27 in the first quarter Thursday night and held on to win 116-107 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score might suggest. Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points in the first quarter and later went down with a sprained ankle and sore knee last night, and didn’t return. He finished with 30 points before limping to the locker room under his own power after an awkward fall, and my guess is that the Knicks are going to play it safe with him for the weekend. He should rest the ankle from now until Saturday’s game against the Cavaliers, but I’m getting the sense he’s not going to play in that one. If I’m right, look for Steve Novak to be sporting the Discount Double Check belt on Saturday night. J.R. Smith played through a sore back and had 18 points and two 3-pointers on 7-of-14 shooting. He’s as streaky as they come and this could be a sign that he’s about ready to go off for the next 10 days or so – especially if Melo misses a few games with his injury. The Knicks improved to 9-0 at home and have 17 wins, trailing only OKC and the Spurs, who have both won 18 games this season.

As if things weren’t bad enough for the Lakers, they got absolutely mauled by the Knicks last night. Things got so bad that Mike D’Antoni started Devin Ebanks over Antawn Jamison to start the second half, which Ebanks parlayed into a career-best 15 points in 34 minutes. I have been so down on Jamison that I cut him across the board on Sunday, and apparently Mike D is right there with me. Jamison’s not playing defense and looks like he’s lost his confidence on the court. And with Pau Gasol eventually making his way back to the court from his balky knees, Jamison’s fantasy life could be about over. And no, you shouldn’t be picking up Ebanks unless you’re in my 30-team league.

Despite the disastrous night in reality, Dwight Howard finally gave his owners a break at the free throw line by hitting 4-of-6 shots. Yay Dwight! He also hit 8-of-11 shots for 20 points, seven boards and a block, but his owners can’t be thrilled right now. I don’t want to wake a sleeping giant, as I’m playing against Howard in League Freak this week, but he’s blocked a grand total of four shots in his last four games, and just one in his last two. Add in the poor shooting from the line, the mediocre shooting from the field (25-of-47 over his last four), and the 16 turnovers, and he’s not doing much to help fantasy teams lately outside of scoring and rebounding. He’s due for an explosion soon, but it’s also becoming pretty clear that he’s not near 100 percent after last season’s back surgery. But at least the Lakers have Dwight instead of Andrew “peg leg” Bynum, right?

Kobe Bryant stayed hot with 31 points and 10 boards, while Metta World Peace chipped in with 23 points and a full stat line, but the Lakers are now 9-14 on the season and losers of four straight. They get a break tonight against the Wizards, but the game is in Washington and the Wiz are coming off a great win against the Heat on Tuesday night. If they happen to stun the Lakers tonight, the L.A. media and fans are going to be calling for Mike D’s head on a platter. Steve Nash is eventually going to walk through that door for D’Antoni, but I’m not expecting any miracles.

If you're interested in reading some great Twitter humor on D'Antoni, T.J. Simers and Phil Jackson, check out @Netw3rk. His timeline from yesterday is hilarious, in my opinion. And you can follow me by hitting this link, although I'm not quite as creative as he is.

Bobcats fall in Atlanta

Ramon Sessions had 16 points, four assists and two 3-pointers in 22 minutes in a loss to the Hawks, but has been very inconsistent lately. Kemba Walker is having a fantastic season (surprisingly), which has really hurt Sessions. He’s still worth a look in many leagues, but will only truly have value if Walker goes down. Speaking of going down, Byron Mullens racked up -0.3 fantasy points in one of my leagues last night, as in negative .3. He played just 14 minutes, scored three points on 1-of-8 shooting and committed two turnovers. Look, I get that he was drafted late in most leagues and should be cut some slack, but the fact of the matter is that he hasn’t played well in December, is shooting less than 40 percent on the season, and has played less than 20 minutes in four of his last six games. The bottom line is that he’s going to be inconsistent all season long, but simply has to get minutes because of a lack of options at power forward in Charlotte. I traded him for Patrick Patterson on Thursday, and slept like a baby last night.

Kyle Korver started for the Hawks and had 13 points and two 3-pointers. If you’re team is hurting for threes, Korver looks like a very solid pick up to me, especially given that the Hawks’ schedule is loaded with four-game weeks from here on out. If you’re sitting on Carlos Delfino, drop him for Korver. Josh Smith played well in the win over the Bobcats and is averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 boards, 1.6 steals, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 3-pointers over his last five games. Jeff Teague and Al Horford basically took the night off for the Hawks, while Devin Harris came through with 20 points, four assists and four 3-pointers. He’s been on the fringe of having fantasy value all season, but he didn’t exactly tear it up while Korver was out, and this looks like a fluke more than anything else.

Blazers beat slumping Spurs

The Spurs fell to the Blazers to lose their third straight game as starting shooting guard Gary Neal sputtered with six points on 2-of-10 shooting. The guy is up and down like a yo-yo, and trying to figure out when he’s going to have a big game is impossible to predict. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili played well, but the rest of the Spurs are just too unpredictable. Danny Green played 29 minutes, but finished with just five points in the loss. He’ll also likely take a hit once Kawhi Leonard is back, which should happen soon.

The Blazers got a whopper from a slumping Damian Lillard with a career-high 29 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two 3-pointers, as his ankle injury appears to be behind him. J.J. Hickson had his fourth straight double-double and 12th of the season, and I still have no idea why he was ever dropped from fantasy teams. Nicolas Batum played through his sore back and had 11 points, eight assists, two blocks and a 3-pointer, but hit just 4-of-11 shots. The fact he played a whopping 38 minutes is a good sign and I’m just hopeful that his back problem will quietly go away. Wesley Matthews sat this one out with his hip injury and will be questionable for Sunday against the Hornets. Victor Claver started, but failed to score last night, while Luke Babbitt scored 12 points off the bench. Owners of Matthews looking for a spot starter would be better served picking up a player off waivers who doesn’t play for the Blazers.

Knicks drill Lakers in first quarter

The Knicks spanked the Lakers 41-27 in the first quarter Thursday night and held on to win 116-107 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score might suggest. Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points in the first quarter and later went down with a sprained ankle and sore knee last night, and didn’t return. He finished with 30 points before limping to the locker room under his own power after an awkward fall, and my guess is that the Knicks are going to play it safe with him for the weekend. He should rest the ankle from now until Saturday’s game against the Cavaliers, but I’m getting the sense he’s not going to play in that one. If I’m right, look for Steve Novak to be sporting the Discount Double Check belt on Saturday night. J.R. Smith played through a sore back and had 18 points and two 3-pointers on 7-of-14 shooting. He’s as streaky as they come and this could be a sign that he’s about ready to go off for the next 10 days or so – especially if Melo misses a few games with his injury. The Knicks improved to 9-0 at home and have 17 wins, trailing only OKC and the Spurs, who have both won 18 games this season.

As if things weren’t bad enough for the Lakers, they got absolutely mauled by the Knicks last night. Things got so bad that Mike D’Antoni started Devin Ebanks over Antawn Jamison to start the second half, which Ebanks parlayed into a career-best 15 points in 34 minutes. I have been so down on Jamison that I cut him across the board on Sunday, and apparently Mike D is right there with me. Jamison’s not playing defense and looks like he’s lost his confidence on the court. And with Pau Gasol eventually making his way back to the court from his balky knees, Jamison’s fantasy life could be about over. And no, you shouldn’t be picking up Ebanks unless you’re in my 30-team league.

Despite the disastrous night in reality, Dwight Howard finally gave his owners a break at the free throw line by hitting 4-of-6 shots. Yay Dwight! He also hit 8-of-11 shots for 20 points, seven boards and a block, but his owners can’t be thrilled right now. I don’t want to wake a sleeping giant, as I’m playing against Howard in League Freak this week, but he’s blocked a grand total of four shots in his last four games, and just one in his last two. Add in the poor shooting from the line, the mediocre shooting from the field (25-of-47 over his last four), and the 16 turnovers, and he’s not doing much to help fantasy teams lately outside of scoring and rebounding. He’s due for an explosion soon, but it’s also becoming pretty clear that he’s not near 100 percent after last season’s back surgery. But at least the Lakers have Dwight instead of Andrew “peg leg” Bynum, right?

Kobe Bryant stayed hot with 31 points and 10 boards, while Metta World Peace chipped in with 23 points and a full stat line, but the Lakers are now 9-14 on the season and losers of four straight. They get a break tonight against the Wizards, but the game is in Washington and the Wiz are coming off a great win against the Heat on Tuesday night. If they happen to stun the Lakers tonight, the L.A. media and fans are going to be calling for Mike D’s head on a platter. Steve Nash is eventually going to walk through that door for D’Antoni, but I’m not expecting any miracles.

If you're interested in reading some great Twitter humor on D'Antoni, T.J. Simers and Phil Jackson, check out @Netw3rk. His timeline from yesterday is hilarious, in my opinion. And you can follow me by hitting this link, although I'm not quite as creative as he is.

Bobcats fall in Atlanta

Ramon Sessions had 16 points, four assists and two 3-pointers in 22 minutes in a loss to the Hawks, but has been very inconsistent lately. Kemba Walker is having a fantastic season (surprisingly), which has really hurt Sessions. He’s still worth a look in many leagues, but will only truly have value if Walker goes down. Speaking of going down, Byron Mullens racked up -0.3 fantasy points in one of my leagues last night, as in negative .3. He played just 14 minutes, scored three points on 1-of-8 shooting and committed two turnovers. Look, I get that he was drafted late in most leagues and should be cut some slack, but the fact of the matter is that he hasn’t played well in December, is shooting less than 40 percent on the season, and has played less than 20 minutes in four of his last six games. The bottom line is that he’s going to be inconsistent all season long, but simply has to get minutes because of a lack of options at power forward in Charlotte. I traded him for Patrick Patterson on Thursday, and slept like a baby last night.

Kyle Korver started for the Hawks and had 13 points and two 3-pointers. If you’re team is hurting for threes, Korver looks like a very solid pick up to me, especially given that the Hawks’ schedule is loaded with four-game weeks from here on out. If you’re sitting on Carlos Delfino, drop him for Korver. Josh Smith played well in the win over the Bobcats and is averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 boards, 1.6 steals, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 3-pointers over his last five games. Jeff Teague and Al Horford basically took the night off for the Hawks, while Devin Harris came through with 20 points, four assists and four 3-pointers. He’s been on the fringe of having fantasy value all season, but he didn’t exactly tear it up while Korver was out, and this looks like a fluke more than anything else.

Blazers beat slumping Spurs

The Spurs fell to the Blazers to lose their third straight game as starting shooting guard Gary Neal sputtered with six points on 2-of-10 shooting. The guy is up and down like a yo-yo, and trying to figure out when he’s going to have a big game is impossible to predict. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili played well, but the rest of the Spurs are just too unpredictable. Danny Green played 29 minutes, but finished with just five points in the loss. He’ll also likely take a hit once Kawhi Leonard is back, which should happen soon.

The Blazers got a whopper from a slumping Damian Lillard with a career-high 29 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two 3-pointers, as his ankle injury appears to be behind him. J.J. Hickson had his fourth straight double-double and 12th of the season, and I still have no idea why he was ever dropped from fantasy teams. Nicolas Batum played through his sore back and had 11 points, eight assists, two blocks and a 3-pointer, but hit just 4-of-11 shots. The fact he played a whopping 38 minutes is a good sign and I’m just hopeful that his back problem will quietly go away. Wesley Matthews sat this one out with his hip injury and will be questionable for Sunday against the Hornets. Victor Claver started, but failed to score last night, while Luke Babbitt scored 12 points off the bench. Owners of Matthews looking for a spot starter would be better served picking up a player off waivers who doesn’t play for the Blazers.

News and Notes

Jrue Holiday woke up on Thursday to a sore left foot and ended up having an MRI that revealed a foot sprain. While this doesn’t sound like too big a deal on the surface, owners have to be concerned. Hopefully he’ll play tonight (game-time decision), but the reality is that if his foot doesn’t feel 80-90 percent at game time, he could miss a few games. Royal Ivey is not even traveling with the team to Indiana, meaning that little known Maalik Wayns could be your starting point guard tonight if Holiday can’t go. And sadly, I have owned Wayns for a few weeks in my 30-team league.

J.J. Redick could replace Moe Harkless in the starting lineup for Orlando at some point, sliding Arron Afflalo over to small forward, which would be a nice boost for Redick. Right now, Redick is a fine player to own, but not a must-start due to his inconsistency coming off the bench, at least in many leagues. But if he enters the starting rotation, his combination of scoring, 3-pointers and assists should make him nearly as valuable as some mid-round point guards.

Kawhi Leonard, who has been out since Nov. 18 due to a quad injury, is expected to return to the Spurs lineup some time in the next couple games. Leonard was initially expected to miss just 10 days of action, but that timeframe has quickly turned into a month as some owners continue to hang on for dear life. Leonard was averaging 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 3-pointers per game when he went down, and while the hope is that he’ll be better than that going forward, it’s far from guaranteed. Stephen Jackson is due back around the same time that Leonard is, Gary Neal has been doing a decent job of holding down the fort at shooting guard, Danny Green is averaging 10 points, 3.5 boards, 1.2 steals and 2.1 3-pointers, and Gregg Popovich is still the guy pulling the puppet strings. I love Leonard’s game, but missing a month of the season to start the year is not going to work out well for him. He’s a solid option if you’re looking to pick up a player off waivers, but I am not convinced he’ll live up to the hype he was getting before the injury.

Kirk Hinrich underwent an MRI on his left knee Thursday after sitting out Wednesday’s game, and remains day-to-day for now. He’s already dealt, or dealing with, elbow, hip, thumb and hamstring injuries this season and Nate Robinson is basically a must-start player whenever Hinrich is out.

Anthony Davis will come off the bench for the Hornets again on Friday for the third straight time since returning from his ankle injury. "Normally you put him right back in the fire," coach Monty Williams said. "But because we have Ryan (Anderson), who is basically a starter in this league, it helps that you can bring Anthony at a different rate." This could mean that Davis is now officially the team’s sixth man, but my guess is he’ll be back in the starting lineup before too long. And if that happens, Williams will have to decide whether to keep starting Al-Farouq Aminu at small forward, or whether to play Anderson out of position and start him there instead.

Larry Sanders is expected to play against the Cavaliers tonight after missing his last game with an illness. In case you’re scoring at home, Sanders has blocked 32 shots over his last six games. Hey now! Mike Dunleavy isn’t traveling with the Bucks and will miss Friday’s game in Cleveland with a knee injury. He’s now missed four straight games with the mysterious injury, while Marquis Daniels has been filling in nicely for him. I don’t trust Daniels at all, but Ersan Ilyasova’s strong play could also be related to Dunleavy’s absence. Ilyasova has played well recently and should be owned across the board.

Pacers’ swingman Gerald Green looks like the starting shooting guard tonight, as Lance Stephenson isn’t expected to play due to a sprained ankle. Green fizzled in his three early starts this season, and then fizzled again moving to a bench role. There’s a decent chance he’ll get it right and break out this time, but there’s no reason to pick him up in most leagues until we see how he looks tonight against the Sixers.

Minnesota’s Josh Howard is a game-time call against the Hornets after missing Wednesday’s game and most of Thursday’s practice due to an illness. Ricky Rubio might be set to make his season debut on Saturday against the Mavericks, but he will likely be a game-time decision for that one.

Alan Anderson is due back on Friday from a foot injury, but don’t expect much from the Raptors swingman. He’ll simply be trying to work his way back into the mix, while competing with Mickael Pietrus, Linas Kleiza and DeMar DeRozan for minutes. Anderson was on the verge of having fantasy value when he went down, but will have to prove himself all over again.

Steve "Dr. A" Alexander is the senior editor for the NBA for Rotoworld.com and a contributor to NBCSports.com. The 2017-18 NBA season marks (at least) his 16th year of covering fantasy hoops for Rotoworld. Follow him on Twitter - @Docktora.Email :Steve Alexander